Toni Medrano (29) lit herself on fire after she got drunk and smothered her 3-week old son

[Olivia]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_1...minn-cops-say/

Toni Medrano, a mother who allegedly killed her 3-week-old son when she accidentally fell asleep on him while drunk has died after setting herself on fire, police said.

According to CBS Minnesota, the 29-year-old Medrano was charged with two counts of second-degree manslaughter last month in the Nov. 22 death of her son.

According to the criminal complaint, Medrano came home after having consumed a fifth of vodka and went to sleep on the couch. Her son was lying between her and the back of the couch, police said.

She awoke the next morning to find the child unresponsive. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner's office listed the official cause of death as "asphyxia due to being laid upon while sleeping with an adult."

Medrano was measured with a 0.11 blood alcohol content level at 11 a.m. that morning.

On July 2, St. Paul Park Police and an ambulance from Cottage Grove responded to a medical emergency and authorities say they found Medrano suffering serious, life-threatening burns. She was taken to Regions Hospital, but died as a result of her injuries.

Investigators said Medrano was despondent and suicidal. She had doused herself with a flammable liquid before setting herself on fire.

The Ramsey County Medical Examiner is still investigating her death.

If Medrano had been convicted of the charges she faced, she could have been sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.

[nestlequikie]

OMG! I still think self-immolation is a hardcore way to kill yourself.

[rosebuddy]

OMG! I still think self-immolation is a hardcore way to kill yourself.

agreed! i think it would be so hard to fight the instinct to roll around and put yourself out. although, maybe the pain of killing your baby wins out over self-preservation.

RIP little baby and hot mama.

[HellionDeadwoman]

I'm torn on this one. I want to feel bad for her because she obviously greatly regretted her actions, but at the same time I want to say she should have gotten that drunk and then slept with the child. I can't imagine living with the guilt and pain knowing that I killed my child.
Either way, RIP to both mother and child.

[damn_brat]

Apparently because of Nancy Grace?

A woman slammed on TV by talk show host Nancy Grace as the “vodka mom” — after she allegedly killed her newborn son in a drunken stupor last fall — died after setting herself on fire.

Police said Toni Medrano, 29, poured a flammable liquid on herself in the backyard of her mother’s St. Paul Park, Minn., home on July 2, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported Monday.

A spokesman for the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed she died Saturday evening, although the details surrounding her death remain under investigation, according to reports.

St. Paul Park Police Chief Mike Monahan told the Star-Tribune that Medrano was “despondent and suicidal over personal issues.”

Medrano was facing two counts of manslaughter in the death of 3-week-old Adrian Alexander Medrano, who died of asphyxia on Nov. 22.

Police said Medrano had been drinking through a fifth of vodka before falling asleep on the couch with her son and rolling on him, according to Fox 9 News in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

A criminal complaint filed last month against Medrano said her husband, Jason, had warned her to be careful. But the next morning, it was too late, and Medrano woke up screaming, “JJ, the baby is dead,” the Star-Tribune reported.

Medrano had a history of DUIs, according to reports.

Grace later featured the case on her HLN show, pouring glasses of vodka to demonstrate how much booze was in the bottle.

“Did mommy booze it up and kill her baby?” asked Grace, known for her harsh commentary.

At one point, she asked, “Why no murder charges?”

The scrutiny — both on TV and online — was apparently too much for Medrano.

“The things people said were horrible,” Jason Medrano said Monday, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “It shows that cyberbullying happens to adults, too.”
Medrano’s mother, Yvonne Hill, told Fox 9 News that she was depressed after seeing the show.

“She was trying to build and get by and live with what happened,” Hill said. “When she saw that, it broke her spirit in the worst way.”

Grace’s network and show didn’t immediately comment Monday.

Medrano isn’t the first mom to be featured on Grace’s program and to later die in an apparent suicide.

In 2006, Florida mother Melinda Duckett appeared on Grace’s show and was questioned as to why she didn’t provide more information in the disappearance of her 2-year-old son, Trenton.

Duckett, 21, later shot herself in the head, and her family claimed it was due, in part, to being humiliated by Grace.

University of Minnesota journalism professor Chris Ison said entertainment news shows can have a negative impact on people thrust into the spotlight.

“If you are treating it like entertainment, the news value is reduced” Ison told Fox 9 News, “and sometimes when you are ridiculing or making a person more embarrassed, the potential for harm can go up.”

In the end, County Attorney Pete Orput said it was Medrano’s decision to set herself on fire.

“She chose a permanent solution to a temporary problem,” he told the Star-Tribune.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nati...icle-1.1111147

[aphaziak]

This is heartbreaking... Obviously this mother was negligent for killing her poor son, but dear god, how heartbreaking. I can't fathom what the grandmother must be feeling right now.

[Ron_NYC]

People are blaming Nancy Grace for this one.

[UncomfortablyNumb]

This makes me sad. If I ever harmed one of my kids I would probably want to off myself as well. But I also agree that drinking a 5th with a newborn is not exactly smrt. With that said, I have a wicked sunburn that feels like my skin is on fire, so I cannot imagine lighting myself on fire as the pain would have to be 20x worse. So awful.....RIP baby and Toni.

[k_bass]

This makes me sad. If I ever harmed one of my kids I would probably want to off myself as well. But I also agree that drinking a 5th with a newborn is not exactly smrt. With that said, I have a wicked sunburn that feels like my skin is on fire, so I cannot imagine lighting myself on fire as the pain would have to be 20x worse. So awful.....RIP baby and Toni.

Just 20x worse, huh?

[neenerneener]

Just 20x worse, huh?

sooooooooooo...why is it that the dude who taped tyler clementi getting it on with some guy gets punished for what he did, but nancy grace is allowed to publicly bash someone like that?

[puzzld]

Because she's a professional Neens. There are some things that just can't be left to amateurs.

[strmmrgrrl]

This isn't the first time that bitch allegedly drove someone to suicide. Her show is nothing but tabloid journalism at this point. A lot of the cases she covers are pretty outrageous and high profile to begin with, she really doesn't need all the additional sensationalism.

[nestlequikie]

Uncomfortably? Throw some teabags in a tub of tepid water. Wait a few minutes then soak in the water for 10 minutes or so. It will sure pull the sting out. Taking a few aspirin (not tylenol or advil... aspirin) and drinking tons of water help, too.

[strmmrgrrl]

Are you posting with multiple tabs/windows open?

[neenerneener]

Are you posting with multiple tabs/windows open?

she's talking to the poster uncomfortablynumb.

[strmmrgrrl]

she's talking to the poster uncomfortablynumb.

Oh jeebus! I didn't even notice she had a sunburn - I just saw the comments about the subject at hand and zoned out.

[Ron_NYC]

Oh jeebus! I didn't even notice she had a sunburn - I just saw the comments about the subject at hand and zoned out.

Not your fault. There's a quote button.

[UncomfortablyNumb]

Just 20x worse, huh?

Hey I am in some major pain here so 20x is a lot to me haha. By 20x, I meant 1 million times.

Uncomfortably? Throw some teabags in a tub of tepid water. Wait a few minutes then soak in the water for 10 minutes or so. It will sure pull the sting out. Taking a few aspirin (not tylenol or advil... aspirin) and drinking tons of water help, too.

Thank you so much! I will do that, anything to take the sting out. Thanks again.

[TheFavoriteDaughter]

Nancy Grace is a racist, shit-stirring twat waffle. I hope karma bites her in the ass x100000000. She never even mentioned Jhessye Shockley.

[nestlequikie]

Are you posting with multiple tabs/windows open?

Nook posting. One of the constrictions of it for forum use is that it won't let me quote on there.

Not your fault. There's a quote button.

I was on my Nook and I can't quote there. I was just trying to make her sunburn feel better.

[Ron_NYC]

I was on my Nook and I can't quote there. I was just trying to make her sunburn feel better.

What's a Nook? God damn it, when did I turn 78?

[Nancy Drew]

Nancy Grace is a racist, shit-stirring twat waffle. I hope karma bites her in the ass x100000000. She never even mentioned Jhessye Shockley.

I hate Nancy Grace, but it's not like she picks the topic. I doubt she even watches news.

[TheFavoriteDaughter]

I hate Nancy Grace, but it's not like she picks the topic. I doubt she even watches news.

Then whoever the fucktard is that only picks to report on pretty white girls.

[nestlequikie]

What's a Nook? God damn it, when did I turn 78?

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/nook/379003208

[Nancy Drew]

Then whoever the fucktard is that only picks to report on pretty white girls.

Well, I think most of the country wants to hear about pretty white girls. It's more of a tragedy.